CES is a great time for checking out not just the latest gadgets, but the latest advancements in the components that help make up our gear. That usually means at least a flexible display or two, and we certainly hope to see a number of such projects this year. The first to catch our attention is PaperTab, a flexible electronic-ink-based system from Plastic Logic.

The idea of PaperTab is to replace a multi-window PC interface with a number of discrete, paper-like flexible sheets. By rearranging them on your work surface, you can maneuver through their contents, which change based on their placement and interactions with other sheets.

Now sure, this big, bulky, tethered-down system doesn’t make much sense in the tablet world, where portability is king, but we see a lot of potential here. What if these flexible screens were connected to small batteries and Bluetooth receivers, and you could hand them out at a meeting to display an interactive presentation you control via your tablet? PaperTab might not be the most practical system at the moment, but we could see something like this finding a home alongside tablets one day.